The use of conference calls to facilitate meetings is well known. According to contemporary practice, a conference call participant joins a conference call by calling into a conference server. The call may be made using either time division multiplexing (TDM) or Internet Protocol (IP). Upon reaching the conference server, the prospective participant provides a pre-arranged conference ID. After the conference ID has been validated, then the prospective participant joins the conference call. The use of conference ID's facilitates control of the conference call by limiting participation to those who have previously been invited to participate. Such control of conference calls is generally desirable.
However, such contemporary practice necessitates that the prospective participant know the conference ID in order to join the conference call. Every conference call has a unique conference ID. Therefore, a prospective participant must obtain a new conference ID for each conference call. The requirement for such conference ID's can result in substantial inconvenience for conference callers. Indeed, in some instances it may be extremely difficult or impossible for a prospective participant to obtain the required conference ID. For example, when trying to join a conference call while driving, the need for a conference ID can result in an unsafe condition. This may occur, for example, when the driver attempts to write down the conference ID while simultaneously driving an automobile and using the telephone to obtain the conference ID.